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In a bid to combat marine litter, Norway has submitted a proposal to restrict exports of plastic waste, by amending the Basel Convention. The proposal aims at submitting exports of ‘green listed’ plastic waste for recovery and in most cases also for recycling to a notification procedure.

FEAD, as representatives of the private Waste Management Industry, would like to warn against this proposal which would do much more harm than good as it would thwart the development of an EU market for plastic recycling.

The notification procedure would seriously hinder the development of an EU market for plastic recycling. It would raise the administrative burden and the costs of shipping plastic waste to EU countries where they are further prepared, or it would make shipping simply impossible. The proposal is unclear, with classifications subject to confusion and varying interpretations. This will result in delays, costs, legal cases. FEAD is opposed to a revision making major plastic flows destined for recycling or recovery operations no longer benefit from the green procedure.

In view of Norway’s proposal, FEAD has reacted with a position paper which calls for:

A robust impact assessment since the Norwegian proposal could negatively impact plastic recycling and recovery;

Complementing measures to stimulate European demand for recycled materials and investment in recycling capacities (e.g. Packaging and WEEE plastics);

Sufficient lead in time to allow new recycling infrastructure to be built;

The Austrian Presidency, as well as several Member States, such as Belgium, Czech Republic, Italy, France, the Netherlands, and the UK, already expressed their support for the European Parliament’s proposal. In view of the upcoming COREPER I (14 December), FEAD would like to urge the other Member States, as well as the Commission, to be open to mandatory recycled content.

A mandatory recycled content target will send, through the waste and material value chain, a strong signal to boost the offer of, and the demand for recycled plastics, as well as provide operators with the necessary certainty they need to make significant investments in plastics recycling from packaging products. It would also send a strong signal to incentivise the production of recyclable bottles, rather than single-use ones.

The private waste management sector is committed to delivering the quantity and the quality needed by the producers.

Despite the desirable goal of the proposal, the waste management companies are very concerned of its implications on waste management in the EU. The import ban on different types of solid waste put in place by China last year has already a significantly impact, taking away the world’s largest market for scrap plastics but also opening up an opportunity to recycle more of our waste in the EU, if we adopt the right supporting measures that markets need for a real take off of the uptake of recycled plastics. Norway’s proposal risks unfortunately to hinder the development of an EU market for plastic waste, by raising the administrative burden and the costs of shipping plastic waste, or by making them simply impossible. For avoiding this, the new entries need to be clear to avoid confusion and varying interpretations. FEAD is also opposed to a system that restricts the use of the B3010 entry to plastic recycling under the green procedure, excluding plastic waste for recovery operations.

Other News

FEAD members welcome the publication of the draft own-initiative report on a European strategy for plastics in a circular economy by rapporteur MEP Mark Demesmaeker as a step forward for designing a new vision for plastics as part of the transition to a circular economy. In view of the foreseen consideration of the draft report this week in the ENVI committee, FEAD would like to draw the attention of the MEPs to crucial points for the private waste and resource management industry.

A strong demand for recycled plastics will only result from concrete binding actions, accompanied by economic measures to bridge the price gap detrimental to plastics from recyclates.

FEAD welcomes the progress made to pave the way for the transition to a circular economy

Following the adoption by the European Parliament of the final agreement on the Circular Economy Package, FEAD members welcome the progress made to pave the way for the transition to a circular economy.

The private waste and resource management industry welcomes the legally binding targets, as a necessary push towards better collection and sorting of waste.

FEAD members welcome the non-legislative Public Procurement Package : “Increasing the impact of public investment through efficient and professional procurement” and support the Commission’s continued efforts to ensure that the public procurement rules are properly implemented across the internal market. FEAD believes that public procurement, and in particular GPP–green public procurement, is one of the tools that can contribute to the transition from a linear to a circular economy.

FEAD, the European Federation for Waste Management and Environmental Services, represents the private waste and resource management industry across Europe. FEAD’s members are national waste management associations covering 19 Member States, Norway and Serbia.

FEAD’s members represent about 3,000 companies with activities in all forms of waste management. Our companies have an approximate 60% share in the household waste market and handle more than 75% of industrial and commercial waste in Europe. Their combined annual turnover is approximately € 75 billion. These companies employ over 320,000 people who operate around 2,400 recycling and sorting centres, 1,100 composting sites, 260 waste-to-energy plants and 900 controlled landfills.

They enable the transition to a circular economy by producing resources which can be re-injected in the economy and by supplying energy. Our companies add value through innovative and cost-efficient collection, sorting, and recycling of secondary raw materials. As a result, they play a crucial role in achieving the best economic and environmental outcomes.

For more information about FEAD, please view our brochure:

Further publications:

FEAD Strategy for 2014-2020: "Driving the Circular Economy"

(German translation available upon request)

The Vital Role of the Private Sector in European Waste and Resource Management (2014)